By: THEODORE MILLON
et al.
Histrionics can
be described as seductive, indecisive, overemotional, demonstrative, and attention seeking, yet at the root of their
character lies a basic feeling of helplessness and a need to make others the
center of their lives. Histrionics put much of their energy into cultivating many
superficial relationships and lack fidelity and loyalty not only to sexual partners but
across all interpersonal relationships.
Histrionic
characteristics are a valued part of our culture. Friendly, expressive, and
sociable people are
often the life of the
party. Oldham and Morris (1995) describe the dramatic style as those living
their lives through
sensation and romance in almost a theatrical way. The outgoing style (as
described by Millon) is charming, with a zest for life that is contagious. The
disorder, however,
has a deficient sense of self-esteem, is cognitively global and diffuse, and
uses sexual
provocativeness inappropriately.
Several variants
of the histrionic personality exist. Theatrical histrionics are chameleons, transforming themselves to fit each new
situation. The infantile histrionic is a blend with the borderline personality,
with rapidly changing emotions. The vivacious histrionic is a blend of extremely high
levels of energy with many narcissistic traits. The appeasing histrionic is a
combination of dependent and compulsive features, becoming syrupy sweet and
good. The tempestuous histrionic personifies many borderline personality
features, being intensely moody and having the least developed
self-identity of the
histrionics. The disingenuous histrionic is a blend with antisocial features, being manipulative and revengeful.
The modern-day
histrionic personality grew out of a long history of the hysterical personality
that can be traced back to ancient Greece but was really the cornerstone of the psychoanalytic movement. In the 1890s, Breuer and
Freud hypothesized about the unconscious mechanisms that were at work in their
famous hysterical patient, Anna O. Eventually, Freud discovered the defense mechanism of
repression and, even more important, he proposed that hysterical symptoms were
the result of unconscious instincts threatening to seep into consciousness. This discovery
of secret wishes and unconscious desires has led to most of the major developments in
psychoanalysis. A host of analysts who have written about various histrionic character
types, including Kernberg, Reich, and Fromm, included the defense mechanisms—repression,
sexualization, and dissociation—as integral personality components maintaining
the histrionic type. The development of the hysterical character is still
feverishly debated. Freud believed oedipal fixations were key, but modern
analytic thinkers believe low-functioning hysterics have oral concerns and higher
functioning hysterics, as Freud suggested, have issues related to
the oedipal stage of
development.
Cognitions and
defense mechanisms are closely intertwined for histrionics. Their cognitions are scattered, diffuse, global, and overly
simplistic. They possess a filter to keep out any ideas that are too detailed,
philosophical, or concrete. Instead, they view the world through their own
imprecise and overemotional lens. Their attention is extremely limited; thus
they possess few schemas for making sense of our complex world and tend to make broad overgeneralizations.
The histrionic also fails to develop a well-formed sense of identity, never
identifying goals and putting together a life plan. Many believe that histrionics
fundamentally feel inadequate and are unable to handle life; hence, they actively seek help
from others by making themselves attractive and desirable. At the core,
however, remain intensely negative beliefs despite the admiration and
adoration of others.
Although at first
histrionics seem attractive and charming interpersonally, eventually most people tire of their neediness and shallowness.
Hence, histrionics cycle through friendships and sexual relationships quickly. From a
social learning perspective, it is fairly easy to make sense of the development of a
histrionic. Parents who reinforce desirable behaviors on a variable schedule
force children to become more and more extreme and exaggerated in their
behaviors to secure needed attention and nurturance.
These behaviors
cross over into other social interactions when they enter adolescence and learn to exploit their developing sexuality to
capture others’ attention. There is some evidence of the role of biology in the
development of the histrionic personality. Most of the evidence comes from research
in sociopathy and the theoretical assumption that histrionic personality is the
female expression of the antisocial personality. Assortative mating theory
proposes that traits attractive to the opposite sex tend to become amplified over
many generations and that histrionics have amassed a superabundance of these
traits.
From an
evolutionary neurodevelopmental perspective, the histrionic is referred to as the active and
other-oriented personality. Histrionics actively work to bind others to them but only with the
goal of collecting back-up alternatives to ensure a steady supply of affection.
While histrionics
are easy to identify because of their drama and theatrics, they do share characteristics with the dependent and
borderline personalities as well as the narcissistic and antisocial
personalities. Histrionics are prone to developing certain Axis I disorders such as somatoform disorders,
dissociative disorders, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and drug and alcohol
abuse.
Histrionics
rarely seek therapy. However, several techniques may be of use in treating histrionics. The therapist must be alert to the
histrionic’s attempts to manipulate the therapist into indulging the client’s
need for endless nurturance. In addition, the client may have difficulty setting goals
as self-improvement may run counter to the purposes of therapy. Cognitively, histrionics
must learn to focus their attention and set goals for therapy. Interpersonally,
they need to work on developing their own identity. What may prove useful in therapy is
assertiveness training and active listening skills geared toward changing their old patterns of
interaction.
References
Personality Disorders in Modern Life, second edition, 2000,
2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment